Which Lifestyle Would Cost Our Family Less - Oregon or Costa Rica? - Part 1: Taxes

Gringo expats decide to retire in Costa Rica for a wide variety of reasons. Topping many expats' lists of desirable advantages would be maintaining their living standard at a lower cost or enjoying a higher standard of living for the same cost. That goes for adventurous, frugal younger expats as well as older expats such as myself stretching their retirement dollars.

Costa Rica can certainly offer terrific savings, especially in the areas of health care and housing. Many other daily expenses, however - automobiles being the most egregious example - are higher than what most norteamericanos are accustomed to. Depending on your financial status, lifestyle choices, goals and ability to adjust, the comparative financial equations we all go through at some point before moving here will each have their highs and lows.

Taking Stock of Expat Living Expenses

One Constant Is That Things Change

As we approach a new phase in which our own income will shift to primarily U.S. Social Security, our calculations are changing. In fact, just in terms of cost of living, we find that it may actually be cheaper for us to reside in our previous home state of Oregon. I'm not going into all the gory details of that calculation, but this two-part article does hit the high points. Hopefully, it provides additional food for thought to those considering moving to Costa Rica

Thrilling Flight on Sansa and Pleasant Experience Using Uber

Ever since one of the local airlines, Sansa, announced last December that they were instituting flights between our area's biggest town, San Isidro de El General, and San Jose International, I've been itching to try it out. Not only had I not been on a plane since around ought-9 but I was anxious to get a lay of the land in our part of Costa Rica that can only be seen from an aircraft. It is a satisfying feeling to finally have air service to our part of the country, which seems considered an unwanted step-child to the rest of the country at times.

Our terminal companion

An excuse to try the new flight arose when I  glanced at my passport a few weeks ago and found that it was already expired, which requires a trip to the U.S. Embassy in San José to rectify. So, I booked tickets online for Tamara and me for yesterday, the 11th.

They fly between SIG and SJO three times a week, with two flights each of those days. Tickets are not exactly cheap, being $70 each, one-way for residents however. Turistas pay $100.

San Isidro Runway: lengthened, repaved a few years ago thanks to a grant from Germany

Arriving at San Isidro Airport

No parking at the San Isidro airport is available unless you want to leave your car on the road outside the fence. So, we dropped Sean at school, left the car at a downtown public parking lot and hailed a taxi to take us to the airport. Judging by the driver's perplexed look, it was clear there are not many requests to be taken out there. About 15 minutes later, through what passes for rush hour in San Isidro, we pulled up to the short cyclone fence surrounding the runway.

Want to Buy a Lovely Costa Rica Finca? or Selling, but Not Selling Out

View from the balcony of our house. Cerro de La Muerte just beyond the clouds

Our rationale is simple: a little less field work and a little more money in the bank acount. That's essentially why we've decided to offer up a couple of lots out of our nearly 3 hectare finca here in southern Costa Rica. If you will not be satisfied unless you can have it all, we'll consider that too.

The price of the entire property is $279,000. We are open to financing with about 20% down over 10 or so years.

Here's a rough summary (more details can be found at the "Our Finca Sale" page, which you can access just under the blog header photo above):

• Located at 4,000 ft. elevation just north of San Isidro de El General. The air is always fresh and cool and the views are outstanding
• Walking distance to Matasanos village and the larger towns of San Ramón Sur and San Ramón Norte.
• Fresh, cold, clean water comes from a spring flowing right out of the Las Piedras granite batholith, part of which crosses the property

Is Costa Rica a Gringo "Watering Hole"?

From a recent article on roadjunky.com -

“Costa Rica is rapidly becoming the Central American watering hole for fat, aging gringos of small town America who isolate themselves in huge houses built with cheap, local labor.”

Harsh!

Being acquainted with the author (she and her friend were our guests for a week last year), I was taken aback by this shrill generalization. It didn’t seem like her, though I’m often a casualty of my own selective memory. In the next instant after reading this opening paragraph I also had an uncomfortable twinge of self-identification with said class of gringos at the watering hole. I shook it off as I read on…

“Presumably, they are there to sweat out their obesity as they dread any interaction with the local communities. An unfortunate breed, these permanent tourists reek of entitlement, consumerism and ignorance. The beautiful Costa Rican countryside has rapidly become overrun with guided package tours, expensive hotels, shabby architecture, perpetual spring breakers and ingles-only retirees. There is almost no visible indigenous culture and any ruins are well hidden and poorly advertised.”

Hmmm. I’ll give her a pass on the implied thesis (not continued in the remainder of the article) that somehow the presence of sweaty gringos is at least partially responsible for the near extinction of the indígenas, though I’d enjoy reading the verbal contortions necessary to make that connection. Our European ancestors clearly get the credit for the genocide they perpetrated, north and south, and by association, we the descendants should share some guilt, since we are the principal beneficiaries of their misdeeds. But, since Ms. Brownell didn’t elaborate more on her implied assertion, I’ll defer going down that road myself.